GENERALIZATION OF THE CHOICE BLINDNESS EFFECT TO OUT OF SAMPLE ITEMS

Abstract

It is generally believed that an individual‘s preferences are relatively stable. However, prior studies have shown that these preferences could be manipulated. This effect has been replicated across several domains. Expanding on previous work, the current study employs the choice blindness paradigm to examine whether the effects of risk preference manipulations generalize from one set of gambles to a new set of gambles. In addition, possible moderators of these effects were explored – manipulation acceptance and executive functions. Participants underwent a preference manipulation, with risk preferences recorded before and after. Our results indicate that preference manipulations generalize to out of sample items. Specifically, although on average there was no change in preferences, a significant effect was demonstrated when taking into account individual differences in manipulation acceptance – with participants who were more accepting of the manipulation showing stronger changes in out of sample preferences. We discuss the possible interpretations and implications for the findings, as well as future directions for the field.